Al Jazeera team held in Libya

Muammar Gaddafi's security forces have arrested four Al Jazeera Arabic journalists and are holding them in Tripoli.

20 Mar 2011 13:47 GMT

Security forces loyal to longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have arrested four Al Jazeera Arabic journalists who have been working in western Libya for several days, the network said early on Sunday.

The four journalists are:

Ahmed Vall Ould Addin, correspondent

Kamel Atalua, cameraman

Ammar al-Hamdan, cameraman

Lotfi al-Messaoudi, correspondent

The network holds the Libyan authorities responsible for their safety, security and well-being, and "regional parties" are helping to secure their release, Al Jazeera said in a statement.

"We're doing everything possible to secure the release of our colleagues from the Gaddafi authorities," Al Jazeera director general Wadah Khanfar wrote on Twitter. "We want them back immediately."